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Workout Plan: Week of March 31, 2013 + More Rest

This will be short, but I’ll probably be back this week with a workout clothing review. Andy and I also completed our Refine Resolution Challenge this weekend. I’ve got lots to say about that too, and that will come soon. And I still haven’t reviewed my CrossFit Jersey City experience! That was in December, so you might say I am a little behind.

dori works larry lounges

Until then, here’s my workout plan for the week of March 31, 2013:

  • Sunday – Real Ride at Revolve (45 min)
  • Monday – Teach spin (55 min)
  • Tuesday – Refine Method (1 hr)
  • Wednesday – Rest
  • Thursday – Real Ride at Revolve (45 min) or Rest
  • Friday – Rest
  • Saturday – Teach spin (50 min)

You might notice this plan looks very different than most weeks – notably because of the lack of Refine Method. I started feeling some pain in my upper back on the right side. I’ve had this twice before and I’ve been to a doctor about it. She said it’s a muscle strain and comes from carrying absurdly heavy bags on my right shoulder.

Over the last few months, I’ve carried a heavy workout bag which includes sneakers for Refine, spin shoes (sometimes both, sometimes one or the other), a water bottle that is often full, a coconut water bottle, a bag of makeup, a hair iron, etc etc. And this is in addition to my purse. I’m incapable of carrying my bag on my left shoulder; I can’t explain it but it feels so wrong and unnatural that I just forget how to walk when it’s there. I’m like a dog. Does anyone else have that issue?

The point of this long winded tale is that the pain came back.

In the past, a full week off Refine has helped, since lifting heavy things and doing pushups and using my back muscles don’t help the situation at all. After a week, I’ve been able to come back to class feeling back to normal. I canceled the class I planned for yesterday and went to Revolve instead. I’m going to Refine on Tuesday because I am bringing a new friend who really wants to try it. We met because she takes my spin class every Monday morning! It’s been hard for Andy and I to make friends in Jersey City, and we loved meeting Caitlin and her husband for a drink last week. This week, I show her the wonders of the Refine Method.

After Tuesday, I’ll take a few days off Refine and see how I am doing. Also, going to Refine means carrying my heavy bag to and from Jersey City on two trains with some walking thrown in. So not going there should help.

I want to take care of this now because my wedding is in just over two months and I want to be back into my workouts as soon as possible. My back felt fine yesterday and this morning, but after having to carry that heavy bag with me today since I taught spin and had to get ready at the gym, I’m hurting again.

My bag is definitely the culprit. I need to find a non-ugly backpack this week! I can’t let something so dumb derail me from my workouts and keep me from the class I love most in the world, Refine.

I have a sports massage scheduled for this Friday with the most amazing, brilliant, talented sports massage therapist Danielle DeMaio (She works with famous athletes – let me know if you want her info!). I feel confident that I’ll be good to go after that.

Here’s how I did with my workouts last week:

  • Sunday – REST – Complete!
  • Monday – Teach spin (55 min) and Refine Method (1 hr) Teach spin again (55 min) – I got a call to sub a spin class i nthe evening, so I did that instead of Refine – Complete!
  • Tuesday – Refine Method (1 hr) – Complete!
  • Wednesday – Refine Method (1 hr) – Complete!
  • Thursday – Revolve (45 min) – Complete!
  • Friday – Rest or easy run – I went to Refine Method since I canceled it on Monday. So, complete!
  • Saturday – Refine Method (1 hr) – Complete! (Last day of Refine Resolution Challenge!)

Last week was a great week of working out. This week I’m looking forward to taking it easier. I am open to canceling any workouts after Tuesday and just letting my body rest.

Rest isn’t so bad when you’ve got this tiny thing to squeeze.

dori larry couch cuddle

Do you have a recurring pain that’s not quite an injury but keeps coming back? How do you handle it?

Blue Cross and Blue Shield Blue365 Program + Visa $500 Gift Card Giveaway

First things first, this is a sponsored post. All opinions are entirely my own, and there is a very generous giveaway at the end. OK, so …

When it started getting cooler out and it was clear that Fall was approaching, I began stressing about my shoes. Specifically, the shoes I will wear when walking outdoors. This used to be simple for me, pre-bunion injury. But now that I’ve learned the importance of supportive shoes the hard way — for everyone, not just for people with injuries — I didn’t know what exactly to do.

It’s too cold for my beloved Birkenstocks, and I needed shoes that were supportive but also nice enough looking for the following: going for walks, my day at work, going out to a restaurant and during any weekend activities. Me being me, I stressed about this but I didn’t actually do anything about it either. I have so many shoes I’ve spent money on that I can no longer wear, and I didn’t want to throw more money away on something if it didn’t meet my needs.

When I learned about the Blue365® Program, I checked the website to see if my Blue Company was participating – and they were! Blue365 is a national program offered by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association to members of participating Blue Cross and/or Blue Shield Companies. Blue365 offers discounts on a number of fitness, nutrition, wellness products and programs from a variety of companies, making it easy to incorporate healthy activities into your budget.

I browsed through all the deals to decide which I wanted to redeem. These offers are updated weekly in a “Groupon-like” way. They are divided into the following categories:

  • Fitness
  • Healthy Eating
  • Living
  • Personal Care
  • Wellness

While I naturally gravitated to the ‘Fitness’ section first, I looked through all the deals to get a sense of what this program offers. I was surprised to see such a variety. The discounts all promoted healthy lifestyle choices, but that really included all aspects of health.

I saw deals from BodyMedia FIT Armband (tempting), Polar Heart Rate Monitor, Lasik eye surgery, vision products, gym memberships, hearing aids, and more.

All deals are aimed to help members live healthy, happy lives. And for me, a healthy, happy life means getting myself moving. At first I wasn’t sure what to choose. While that BodyMedia FIT Armband sounds awesome, I ultimately decided it was not for me.

I saw Reebok gave 20% off to Blue365 members, so I clicked through and browsed their site. Under the ‘Women’ category I saw a subcategory called ‘Walking.’ Curious, I went there. And then I saw them. The Reebok Premier Flex GTX VI sneaker. Not only were these sneakers specifically designed for walking but also to specifically accommodate orthotics (which I have because of my bunion, but they only fit in sneakers and not in dress shoes). They are black, cute and sleek-looking.

In other words, it looked like a shoe I could not only walk in this Fall but also wear anywhere I go without feeling self-conscious. And I felt VERY self-conscious this summer when I had to wear my bulky, blue, running sneakers with my summer dresses. I needed these shoes, and thanks to my Blue365 discount the $99 price tag didn’t defer me as it might otherwise have, because the shoes became $79. And really, without that discount I never would have even been ON the Reebok site to find out these babies existed.

When they arrived, I put them on and was relieved that they looked exactly as I’d hoped. They won’t be conspicuous at work or with jeans, dress pants, yoga pants or sweats. I walked all around a large store in them, and the more I walked the more comfortable they were. I LOVED them!

While I still dread Fall because I don’t do well with colder weather, I’m happy and relieved I can keep myself active through walking. It’s such a simple thing that I never thought about before, and I look forward to covering a lot of steps in these shoes thanks to my Blue365 deal. Hopefully other members will find items they need to improve their own health as well. That’s the idea.

I’m looking forward to receiving my Blue365 weekly email with the current discounts, which also get promoted on the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association Facebook page.

Insured through a Blue Company? Sign up for Blue365 to gain access to deals at http://blue365deals.com/. If your Blue Company isn’t yet participating in the Blue365 Program, you can still sign up and will be notified when your Blue Company joins the Blue365 movement.

The Giveaway!

BlogHer is giving away two $500 VISA GIFT CARDS! All you have to do to be entered for a chance to win one of the two gift cards is leave a comment with your answer to this question: How are you planning to stay healthy through the Fall and holiday season?

All the comments from the 15 participating bloggers will be pooled. The prize is awesome, so I hope one of you wins!
Rules: No duplicate comments. You may receive two (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods: a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post b) Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: #SweepstakesEntry; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post c) Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the Official Rules to learn about an alternate form of entry. Entries from all participating blogs will be pooled for winner selection; only two (2) entries per household. This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to respond, otherwise a new winner will be selected. The Official Rules are available here. This Blue365® Program Sweepstakes runs from 10/16/12-11//12/12. Be sure to visit the Blue365® page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ posts!
The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association is an association of independent, locally operated Blue Cross and/or Blue Shield Companies. BlogHer is an independent and/or separate company providing marketing/promotional services and does not provide Blue Cross and/or Blue Shield products or services.

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